Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The Big 3-0

I turn 30 on Friday.

Where did the time go? Most of the time I don't FEEL old, except for the occasional 2-day hangover. Ok, gravity is beginning to take its toll too.

Shouldn't I be having a crisis or something? Shouldn’t I be dreading turning 30, crying everyday and calling my therapist and my 30+ friends in the middle of the night? (No, they have freely given me their advice… Rumor has it- 30s are the new 20s. Thank goodness.)

Strangely, I am not afraid of turning 30 (YET anyway- I have 2 days to go.) Perhaps I am in denial?

I don't have dismay about where I was “supposed to be” by now or what I “should have done” with my life by this arbitrary age... I think that is where people freak out- when they have expectations for themselves associated with a timeline. In fact, it seems to me that the only time anyone is EVER disappointed is when they have any expectations whatsoever. (Try NOT having any expectations sometime. I highly recommend it.)

I have not been elected president yet. I don't care. You all know I would be a HORRIBLE president.

I haven't been married or popped out any kids. Does it seem as if I regret it?

I am not CEO of a big corporation. Big whoop. Sounds like a lotta responsibility to me....

Does all of this make me a loser, as if I have lost my life’s purpose? Maybe to some people it does. Some people are cut out for those types of goals. Those same people have goals like having kids by 25 and being CEO by 30, ruling the world by 60. Not me.

I'm not disappointed at all with where I am with my life so far. I have a solid Master's degree. I own real estate. I have a retirement plan and a job that pays ok. I have been to a LOT of amazing places. I have met some fabulous people. I have learned a lot. I'm not saying that I don't have any regrets (I do have a couple), but I am saying that I don't think you should put a time limit on accomplishments.

My plans for the future don't have an expiration date on them. I know that one never knows when things may change drastically or when life as you know it may end, but I don't believe that the important things in life have a deadline. Just have fun. If you happen to end up in the White House one day, great. (But I hope you aren’t republican.)

It is ideal to expect the worst and prepare for the best.

Why are the decade birthdays such a big deal anyway? I had an age “crisis” at 27. What did that have to do with a multiple of nine. Or three. Anything??

….And I have to say that lots of alcohol and friends is a great distraction from reality….

2 Comments:

"The search is what everyone would undertake if he were not stuck in the everydayness of his own life. To be aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair."
-Walker Percy, The Moviegoer